Al-Hakim Nishapuri

For other uses, see Hakim (disambiguation).
For the Sunni jurist (faqih) and traditionist (muhaddith) of Khorasan, see Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi. For the famous collector of hadith who wrote Jami` at-Tirmidhi, see Tirmidhi. For the Fatimid caliph, see Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
Muslim scholar
al-Hakim Nishapuri
Title al-Hakim
Born 3 March, 933 (3 Rabi'-ul-Awwal,321 AH)
Died 1 September, 1014 (3 Safar 403 AH)
Ethnicity Persian
Era Islamic golden age
Religion Islam
Jurisprudence Shafi'i
Creed Ash'ari[1]
Main interest(s) Hadith
Notable work(s) Mustadrak al-Hakim

Abu Abd-Allah Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah al-Hakim al-Nishapuri (Arabic: أبو عبدالله محمد بن عبدالله الحاكم النيسابوري) (933 - 1014), and also known as Ibn Al-Baiyi.[3]) was a Sunni scholar and the leading traditionist of his age, frequently referred to as the "Imam of the Muhaddithin" or the "Muhaddith of Khorasan."

Biography

Al-Hakim, who hailed from Nishapur, had vast numbers of teachers[4] in Khurasan, Iraq, Transoxiana and elsewhere. He had scores of notable students, including Imam al-Bayhaqi[5] who was a scholarly giant in his own right.

Al-Hakim gained a substantial reputation for writing Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain. He started writing al-Mustadrak in the year when he was 72 years old. Al-Hakim is quoted to have said: "I drank water from Zamzam and asked Allâh for excellence in writing books".

Death

On the 3rd of Safar 405 al-Hakim went into the bath, came out after bathing, said "Ah" and died wearing but a waist-cloth before he had time to put on a shirt. Later, one of al-Hakim's students, Al-Hasan ibn Ash`ath al-Qurashî said: "I saw al-Hâkim in my dream riding a horse in a handsome appearance and saying: 'Salvation.' I asked him: `Al-Hakim! In what?' He replied: 'Writing hadith.'" [6]

Legacy

Shah Waliullah stated that:[7]

A mujaddid appears at the end of every century: The mujaddid of the 1st century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah, Umar bin Abdul Aziz. The mujaddid of the 2nd century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah Muhammad Idrees Shafi'i. The mujaddid of the 3rd century was Imam of Ahlul Sunnah Abu Hasan Ash'ari. The mujaddid of the 4th century was Abu Abdullah Hakim Nishapuri.

The Shafi'i hadith specialist Ibn al-Salah honours al-Hakim as one of the 'seven compilers of useful compilations' who has the distinction of being one of the few men to have compiled significant works in all three genres of hadith literature.[8]

The Shafi'i historian al-Dhahabi calls him "the great hafiz and imam of the traditionists".[9]

Despite this, he had been accused of being a Shi'a, but al-Subki stoutly denies this.[9] He rejects the label of Shi`i as baseless because Ibn Asakir includes al-Hakim among the Asharis, who consider the Shias as innovators. Others noted to al-Hakim's sincerity in narrating hadith as the first hadith al-Hâkim narrated is:

May Allah make radiant the face of one who heard one of my sayings and then carried it to others. It may be that one carries understanding without being a person of understanding; it may be that one carries understanding to someone who possesses more understanding than he.

Works

He authored the following works among others:

See also

References

  1. Mashita, Hiroyuki (20 Feb 2003). Theology, Ethics and Metaphysics: Royal Asiatic Society Classics of Islam. Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 070071670X.
  2. Constructive Critics, Ḥadīth Literature, and the Articulation of Sunnī Islam, By Scott C. Lucas,pg. 98
  3. Islamtoday.Com - Al-Hakim’s Mustadrak & al-Dhahabî’s Talkhis
  4. Brief Biographies of the Eminent Scholars of Hadeeth
  5. Constructive Critics, Ḥadīth Literature, and the Articulation of Sunnī Islam, by Scott C. Lucas, pg.98
  6. http://www.livingislam.org/n/6sch_e.html
  7. Izalat al-Khafa p. 77 part 7
  8. Lucas, Scott C. Constructive Critics, Ḥadīth Literature, and the Articulation of Sunnī Islam. Brill. p. 98.
  9. 1 2 Lewis, B.; Menage, V.L.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1971]. Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition). Volume III (H-Iram). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 82. ISBN 9004081186.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.